DIY - Inside Cabinet Plate Rack

The small plate display rack was placed inside the cabinet to see how it would look in there. Nope, not that good. But, hey! The idea of a build in plate rack was born, followed by a quick assessment of what was stored in the cabinet, because the door had to go.

*It is important to have in mind that I was working with a 20" width cabinet, and the necessary space for my plates to have a snugly fit was 1.5"

4- ¾" x 36" Square Dowels

8- 5/16" x 48" Round Dowels

¼" & 5/16" Drill bits

Wood glue

Measuring tape

Ruler

Drill

Miter Saw (A hand saw can be used instead)

Sander

Gaffer tape

Hammer and awl

8- 1" Screws

Pencil

Spray primer and paint

Instructions

First, measure the cabinet where you are planning to install the plate rack. Also, measure your plates, the diameter and profile (side view).

*In my case, my plates had a diameter of 11" and their profile size was ¾". That's why I decided to space the round dowels at 1.5" on center. and leave the height for plate space at 12".

Since the cabinet I was dealing with has a face frame, the slots on both ends had to be bigger, to accommodate that "dead space".

Once you know your numbers, it is time to cut the material.
The square dowels were cut 3/16" smaller than the 20" width of the cabinet to have a small wiggle room.
The round dowels were cut at 13.5" -> 12" for plate space + the 1.5" space that they had to go into the square dowels.

*Easy trick to cut those round dowels: I didn't want to cut one by one, all the 22 pieces I needed. If I cut just one with the miter saw, it's going to get damaged... too much power. Doing the cuts with a hand saw...too much trouble! So, they got bundled (four at the same time), using the miter saw and holding them tightly with gaffer's tape (One of my all time favorite tapes). End result...perfect cuts ;)

On your square dowels mark the places where the round dowels would go. Trace a lengthwise center line on each dowel. Each intersection will be the place to drill the holes.

Using an awl and hammer, mark each spot before drilling the holes.
I used a ¼" drill bit to make pre-drills, then the 5/16" drill bit for the round dowels size.

*I tried to cut time by bundling two square dowels to drill all those holes, but it didn't work. The hole in the top dowel was OK but the drill bit came out the lower dowel way off center. I went one dowel at a time...44 holes total.

Once all the round dowels are cut and the holes drilled in the square dowels, you can go ahead and do a dry fit. Don't skip the dry fit, sometimes the dowel doesn't fit in the hole >:( even though they are the same size! Just drive the drill bit one more time.
When you're happy with how everything fits, go ahead and glue it in place. It needs a very small amount of glue on each end of the round dowels.

Wait some time for the glue to dry, then using the same drill bits for pre-drill and actual dowel size, score four holes on each corner of each rack part. Do it only half way through, as seen in the picture below, using tape around the bit, creating a hole that's only ½" deep.

DO NOT GLUE those small connecting dowels, otherwise you're not going to be able to fit the whole structure inside the cabinet.

You can now sand, prime and paint the whole plate rack the way you want it.

Because of the face frame on the cabinet, you have to install the plate rack in parts (I learned it the hard way, with the bookcases in my bedroom). I didn't glue the connecting dowels, they were mainly used as a support to hold the whole structure in place.

Mark the locations where you want to screw the rack to the lower part of your cabinet. Do a pre-drill for the screw. Bring the structure back in and screw it in place from the bottom of the cabinet up.

Place one of the shelves you already had in the cabinet and mark the spots for where you want to drive the screws to secure the top part of the rack. Use a countersink bit to do the pre-drills. Drive the screws from the top shelf down onto the rack.

After cleaning, all that is left is to bring your dishes, see how they fit, and admire your job ;)

Well, I'm still thinking on adding a piece of wood to the face frame to hide the gap in between the plate rack and the shelf that was attach to it. hmmm now I can clearly see when one of my plates is missing :/ I remember I had 12, but somehow only 11 appeared.

I like how by taking the door off and displaying the dishes and some cups, it gives more openness to the kitchen.

This was one of those projects that requires patience. Drilling all those holes, taking measurements, trying to be precise... It took me a full day to complete it, of course, taking my time ;)

I love this idea, it looks amazing. Great tutorial too. Very clever. I would love for you to link up to my Inspire Me party that will be live today at 2:30 PT. www.astrollthrulife.net Hope to see you there. Hugs, Marty

Such a brilliant idea! I love this! I love that its open and it looks so organized and clean. I would imagine it took a lot of patience! You are so good at all the handy stuff. I would love to have the gift of being this handy combined with my passion for design. Great project!

Hi Cristina!Wow, here is another gorgeous Project you make it look so easy, but that's caz you're one talented gal! Que habilidad de mujer, por dios! Wish I lived by you, I'd be at your house everyday asking you the 'how to's!!! ' Your kitchen looks fabulous with this new wrack! Big hugs,FABBY

OH MY...I'm totally not a DIYer...but you've inspired me. I need to do this! Love it! Would love to see you link this up over The Weekly Creative - 6 blogs, a ton of fun!http://www.reasonstoskipthehousework.com/the-weekly-creative-33/

Wow! It looks terrific, Cristina! Isn't it hard to believe all the time it takes for that amount of detail? But...it's so worth it. I love the new look. And...isn't there always one more thing that you just maybe could do? Wishing you an Extraordinary weekend!!

I'm looking at doing something similar, and this is super helpful! Thank you for posting it.

I'm also really excited to read a renovation project blog written by a woman who is actually doing her own cutting/constructing/etc.! Most blogs are like, "I made the design for this awesome thing and then had my husband build it." Which is fine but it's also nice to see women who have determined that they are more than capable of sawing and screwing things together themselves! I am also the main power tool user in my house. :)

Thanks Ilyeana! I wish I could ask my husband to build something for me. I tried but nothing was done, so I have to do it myself. You're so right, we're all capable of doing this kind of work by ourselves!